November 26, 2013

Obrigada



This photo collage is a recycle from last year. We're hosting my favorite holiday this year. This morning I was out in the woods gathering bittersweet and greens for the table. Tonight our eldest arrived. Tomorrow night our youngest arrives, if her flight isn't delayed with the storm here on the east coast. I am loving having our home come alive again after three months of quiet and solitude.

I'm not a religious person but when the kids were young we began saying a quick grace each night before dinner, as we continue to do. I wrote it so we could take time to count our blessings each day.

I leave it with you now but first I want to say Obrigada ( thank you in Portuguese) for your continued readership.


Let us be thankful for all that we have.

For our home, and our health, but especially for each other.

Each day is a blessing.

Amen


Happy Thanksgiving to you all.


xo,
Louise



November 22, 2013

But Then





I keep noticing both the amazingness and the absurdity of smart phones- how this little gadget can, in one breath, bring us closer together, and yet in another, pull us further apart.

Smartphones are a contrast in so many ways.

I love them.

And I hate them.

I like that in a flash I can ask Siri to wake me up at 8AM and without further ado my alarm is set. I love how in an instant I can look up words that I don't know the meaning of. I like how through the camera's lens, we can capture life with crystal clarity.

I love that even though my children are both far away that they still feel in some ways close-by. Without even talking, we can remain a relatively intimate part of each others lives with photos, texts, and videos.

But then, I step out into the world.

I step into an elevator for instance. And the normal social uncomfortableness that humans experience with each other is masked by phones. A moment to be lost in nothingness, is hard to find. A minute to be bored, has been washed away. And nature has become perhaps for many, a bit of a blur.

It's harder than ever to just be.

I have to keep reminding myself to forget my phone.

Because when I do,

it's heavenly.


November 14, 2013

Three Things



The Long Road: I've been struck this week by the story of Madonna Badger who lost her 3 children and her parents in a house fire on Christmas 2011. It is of course a very sad story, but one in which Madonna has shown incredible strength, recovery, and inspiration. It is amazingly therapeutic when we can stop feeling sorry for ourselves.

The Coolest Thing: Looking for a great holiday gift? How about an extra long, color coded charger for your smart phone?

The Skillet: Quick and easy sauteed chicken thighs with lemon caper sauce. Ou-la la!

Off to mow my leaves ( haven't raked them in 2 years and the lawn is loving it)

xoxo




November 08, 2013

Even If

When we speak and say what we really mean, we cross a waterway whose current carries us even closer to our truth.

There is something so delicious and freeing about speaking the truth.

But sometimes it's hard to do.

I had an image when I wrote this of being in a shirt that was three sizes too small.

I imagine that the shirt represented the straightjacket we can all enter when we're afraid to speak the truth.

The buttons on this too small shirt were all straining and pulling with tension. And with my arms outstretched, straight at my side, and puffing and flexing my chest, all the buttons popped off.

 And flew up into the air.